Demon's Dreaming
by phemonoe
Summary: A single twist of fate. An awakening talent. The day a boy's life ended. Schuldig x Aya, Yohji x Aya.
1. Rain

Pairings: Schuldig x Ran, Yohji x Ran, Crawford + Schuldig + Ran

Warnings: Spoilers for entire series, severely AU, m/m relationships (a.k.a. yaoi), harsh language, violence, lemon...the list goes on and on.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters. I merely use them for my own amusement.

AN: I'd like to start by declaring this story almost completely AU. As such, I've either distorted or completely removed certain events from the storyline, and done the same to some of the characters…don't worry, most of them will show up in one form or another, eventually. Lastly, I really hate this first chapter.

* * *

**Demon's Dreaming**

**Chapter 1: Rain**

"_Ran, hurry!"_

There were few things in life that Fujimiya Ran knew to be true.

There were even less that he could attest to with absolute certainty.

As for the things that he could, there was the love his parents shared, a bond that to his mind seemed unbreakable, even after so many years of marriage. Second, there was his own affection for his little sister, yet another connection that had endured many, many years, and more childish squabbles than he cared to remember. Through it all, there was the assurance that there was a rightness to his life, and to the link between his family members, something that would not and could not ever be severed.

Ran had yet to realise that he could be wrong. He also had yet to acknowledge, in this body and mind of an adolescent on the verge of true adulthood, that absolute evil existed in the world.

"_Ran…Ran…."_

But at the end of all things, he would learn.

* * *

The air was suffused with a peculiar sort of heat and yet, in one more irony placed upon a seemingly endless stack, he could not feel it. Instead, his body, bruised and battered as it may have been, was gripped with a sudden onset of cold, one that he felt down to his very bones. He supposed that this was a signal of his approaching death.

He found that he did not mind it.

Everything had been ripped away from him. Even now, in his mind's eye (and it saw very far, farther than it had when he was still alive and loved), the inferno raged around him, the conjectured recollection of his parents' bodies engulfed in flames.

His sister lay in a crumpled heap nearby, cocooned by the stones in which they had once lived, her kimono stretched like spilled milk around her.

Was he dying?

"_Ran…"_

Gripped with sudden pain, he stared up at the night sky and blinked furiously. To his amazement, no tears came.

Was he dying?

The pain receded. In its place was a void, a gaping maw that grew and grew until it threatened to engulf him. Still he struggled, eyes wide and fearful, lest that one fragile strand slipped away.

Was he…?

Footsteps. The boy tilted his head to the side, to where his sister lay. Even now he could sense her receding into the darkness, the single-minded brightness of her consciousness slowly fading.

(_…Ran…where?_)

It still burned.

(**You failed her, you know.**)

The boy frowned, unwilling to shift his gaze from the single white hand beneath the rubble. Something niggled at his mind, teasing at the edges of awareness, but he did not turn.

(**She's dying.)**

No. No. He wouldn't let her. Stubbornly, he clung to the feeble light, cradling it, desperate to coax it back to brightness. Even in his cautious, loving hands, it grew weaker.

(_Ran? Where…are you?_)

Aya?

His heart seized in his chest. There was no sign of movement from where his sister lay, and yet…he could hear her, as clearly as if she had been kneeling beside him, whispering in his ear. He refused to acknowledge that **other** voice, the voice that spoke such lies about Aya-chan. She would be fine. She had to be. Even if he died, she would go on and…

Aya?

The light dimmed.

_Aya?_

(_ranwheredidyou…? nowaitwhere? mother…?)_

And then it was gone.

Ran fancied he could almost hear the snap.

Abruptly, the world came back into dazzling focus, a cacophony of voices filling his mind and his body. The emptiness yawned deeper.

Was he dying?

Even as the cold washed over him once more, and the shrill hum of the voices grew in magnitude, he _reached_. And recoiled.

Blue eyes.

_Aya, please…where did you…?_

(**This is your sin.**)

Blue.

Pale and almost colourless.

With a final, wrenching scream, he fell into the darkness.


	2. The Devil

Pairings: Schuldig x Ran, Yohji x Ran, Crawford + Schuldig + Ran

Warnings: Spoilers for entire series, severely AU, m/m relationships (a.k.a. yaoi), harsh language, violence, lemon...the list goes on and on.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters. I merely use them for my own amusement.

Notes: Once again I'm not quite pleased with how this chapter came out. As such, I'll probably end up revising it at least once, but not until the third chapter is complete. Sorry!

**Demon's Dreaming**

**Chapter 2: The Devil**

**T**his is how it begins:

**O**nce upon a time, there was a boy. The boy had a Gift, one which was both a blessing and a curse, and though some shunned and scorned him, others revered him.

The boy did not mind his Gift.

He had a normal childhood, or at least, as normal as one can with the ability to read minds. His parents loved him, and he gallivanted about the schoolyard with his chums, as all little boys are wont to do.

It was not enough.

One day, when the little boy was no longer a little boy, when the boy had become a man and the Gift had become an obsession, he left home, never to return. He was found by others with similar Gifts; trained and educated in the manner they had been, and when he had mastered it, beaten it down so that it could be used by him and only him, he realised that this control, this power, was all that he had ever wanted. It was all that he had ever desired.

And the Man who had once been a boy, was finally content.

* * *

**O**r like this:

**D**eath was no stranger to Schuldig.

In spite of his talent, or perhaps because of it, he could not recall the first time he had seen someone die. He could however, remember the taste of their passing, the audible separation as their souls departed from their bodies. The rush, when it came, was heady and almost intoxicating, and he often found himself tempted along for the ride. Only the dead burst of synapses at that final moment facilitated his return.

Schuldig was no stranger to death.

When he came back to himself, he was standing near the girl's body, staring at an outstretched hand. There was no movement, and despite himself, he took a step closer.

Was she dead yet?

He dove in, relishing the scent of her suffering; the dazed and pained thoughts that rushed through her pretty head even as she slowly faded.

Aya. Her name was Aya.

_(Who are you? What…happened?)_

This did not surprise him. The dead and dying were remarkably similar…neither knew quite when to shut up. Crouching, he reached for that pale hand, unmoved by the slimness of her fingers or the smoothness of her palm.

(No.)

Slowly, he set the girl's hand back on the ground, clambering to his feet awkwardly. The intrusion had been sudden and painful, the fumbling technique of a neophyte. Not only that but…

For the first time, he turned his eyes to the boy.

He was a pretty little thing, his odd colouring setting him at odds with his darker sister. If not for the obvious bond between the pair, he would never have thought them siblings. Schuldig's eyes narrowed.

This child's voice was much too strong for one about to die.

The boy's gaze was fixed on some point beyond the telepath's feet, eyes wide and glassy with strain. It took a moment for the older man to realise the implications of that look, the blank expression he had seen on the faces of many others like him before.

The kid had a Gift.

Reaching with his own talent, he hacked away at the boy, allowing his will to hover on the periphery of the younger redhead's mind.

(**You failed her, you know.**)

The boy's frame was wracked by a slight tremor, eyes growing even more unfocused. Undaunted, Schuldig tried again.

(**She's dying.**)

And the sooner that she did, the better. The telepath doubted that Takatori was aware of the boy's power, and it would be best if he remained in the dark. He busied himself with monitoring Aya's condition, keeping his eyes on the boy (**Ran**, his mind supplied) as the girl's consciousness finally faded from existence.

(Aya, please…where did you…?)

He felt Ran's mind give beneath his mental onslaught, coupled with the boy's own ponderous grief and guilt. It was terrible.

(**This is your sin.**)

It was wondrous.

The floodgates broke with an almost audible crack, and above the boy's screams Schuldig heard and felt the sudden spike of energy as the boy's Gift broke free…and then only the sound of his own cries and the crackling of flames filled the air.

* * *

**O**r this:

"Where is the boy now?"

"You should know…you're the precog, after all."

Crawford's eyes narrowed threateningly, and Schuldig held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. As far as I know, they've taken him to the hospital."

The older man's eyebrow rose. "They?"

"I don't know who." The telepath sounded slightly troubled, belying his easy grin. "I was kind of trying to avoid being burnt to a crisp, you know." He leaned forward in his seat, placing his un-bandaged hand on one knee. "I'll tell you Brad, I've never seen anything like it. The boy's mind was…" He paused, apparently searching for the right word, before flopping back in the chair. "I can't even begin to describe it."

"Well, you'll have to, considering your report on the operation is due tomorrow. I'm sure our _masters_ won't be pleased by this development."

Ignoring the bitterness in the other man's voice, Schuldig fiddled with the ends of the wrapping on his right hand.

"It drew me in, his mind. And when he did whatever it is that he did, mein Gott…"

Crawford reconsidered pushing the man for answers. Schuldig could be an annoying prick, but he appeared to be more shaken by the incident than he let on – and rightfully so. Somehow the boy, this Fujimiya Ran, had escaped his fate. Far more disturbing, he had evaded Crawford himself, something neither the bespectacled man nor their employers could ignore.

Weighing his options, he decided to tread carefully.

"What happened then?"

Schuldig moved forward again, placing both hands on the edge of the desk. The man stared into Crawford's eyes for a moment, then shrugged, sitting back once more.

"I'm not exactly sure." Definitely uneasy. "I had the situation under control. The girl," he smirked, "was long gone. Completely useless. The boy was still conscious when I reached him. And broadcasting like mad, the little bastard."

"Broadcasting? Are you certain?"

"Not like a telepath, no. But the things coming off of him…the power. It was odd, all things considered."

"How so?" Crawford fought to keep his face neutral, features bland.

"Like I said, he isn't a telepath as far as I can tell. He was holding onto his sister and exercising a certain amount of will but…" Schuldig hesitated, and Crawford's brows rose again. This was highly uncharacteristic of him, near death experience or not.

"But what?" He pressed.

"Then he blanked out." The man suddenly perked up, blue eyes glinting mischievously. "The kid tried to follow his precious little sister to the grave. All I could pick up was static and 'Aya this, Aya that…'" He waved his good hand dismissively. "What a joke."

"Enough." Crawford's voice was cold. He stood, sliding out from behind his desk to stand before the window.

"The boy has been taken to a nearby hospital. As of now, our employers are…adjusting their plans to accommodate this new development." Crawford turned to face his subordinate, gaze cool behind his lenses. "Fujimiya Ran --"

"Neutralized." Schuldig interrupted.

Crawford flinched. "What did you say?"

"As I said, he tried to follow her." The redhead grinned. "I made sure that he didn't quite make it."

* * *

Fire.

Schuldig rubbed his burned hand as he trudged back to his room, mind racing with the aftereffects of the night's events. He was always keyed up after a job, the price one paid for using a Gift unhindered.

He wondered if Fujimiya Ran had ever felt the same.

At the thought of the boy, the telepath shuddered, massaging his aching hand once more. Fujimiya was no telepath, of that he was sure, though the young man's will had been considerable. No, Ran was something –else-, he was sure of it…a shame all of that power had been smothered…and at the boy's own hand at that.

When Fujimiya made to follow his sister into death, Schuldig had acted recklessly, diving after the boy's weakening consciousness and yanking it back to the fore. The boy was stubborn, that much was true, but he was also untrained. That worked in Schuldig's favour, and he had almost succeeded at returning the boy to full awareness when –it- had happened.

Even now, Schuldig wasn't sure of what –it- was.

All that he knew, and even the memories of that little bit were hazy, was that as he worked Ran to wakefulness something had been erected. Unfortunately, he and the boy's power were on opposite sides, and it was all that he could do not to simply tear the boy's psyche to pieces and make him more manageable. That, and he couldn't seem to find a way around the blockage.

Fucker.

Smirking, the redhead turned into his bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him. It wouldn't pay to upset Brad anymore than he already had, at least not tonight. He would bide his time, be on his best behaviour, and hopefully an opportunity to retrieve the brat would present itself.

Until then…Schuldig slipped into bed, settling under the covers still fully clothed. He had no intention of getting any rest at the moment though. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, intent on reaching a mind he had touched before – namely, the slumbering mind of a young man who had watched his life go up in flames.

Fire.

There.

* * *

Once upon a time…

The boy's mind was quiet.

Ran was alone, of that he was sure. He had been alone since his sister had vanished into the mists, and the man with the blue eyes had been forcibly evicted from his thoughts. Now, on the periphery, he could feel a presence.

The boy, who overnight had become a young man, stood, dusting off the seat of his pants before realising just how futile an effort it really was.

This place – his mind – was barren, a world of gray mist edged with ocher, devoid of vegetation or fauna. It was nothing like the outside.

It was nothing like reality.

For the moment, it seemed a blessing.

Ran frowned as a figure materialized in the haze and made its way toward him. How was this possible? Suddenly frightened, he took a cautious step backwards, only to stop as a familiar gaze met his own.

"Aya?"

It couldn't be. He had watched her die…more than that, he had felt it as surely as if he had passed on himself. Wait – perhaps he _had_ followed her into the afterlife. Giving the space around him another cursory glance, he frowned, then returned his eyes to the figure of his sister. If this was the afterlife, why were they the only two here? Shouldn't their parents have been there to greet them? And furthermore, shouldn't Aya-chan have been standing in his place when **he** arrived?

"Aya…is that you?" He tried again, desperately trying to keep his voice steady. He was dismayed when the question came out with a distinctive squeak.

The spectre giggled, obviously amused by his predicament, though its face showed no such emotion. Ran's vague sense of unease spiked. Was this really Aya-chan?

"Ran…Ran-nii." The voice was the same, though something was noticeably off in the inflection. The young man took another step backward, his discomfort gone through the roof. This wasn't Aya – he was sure of it. It looked like her, and it tried to sound like her, but…something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

The girl pouted, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. They remained flat and detached.

"Ran-niisan, don't be afraid." Suddenly it was before him, hands raised and reaching for his face. Against his will, the redhead flinched, taking another step. Almost immediately the spectre's face twisted, and her hands clamped down upon his arms in a bruising grip.

"Don't go over there! It's dangerous!" There, that sounded more like the old Aya-chan. Her face relaxed, as did her grasp, and Ran was able to break free. "I don't want you to get hurt…brother."

Ran had always been the more intuitive of the siblings, though he would freely admit that Aya was more emotional. Despite her warnings, there was the instinctive need to see what had her so troubled, but his own senses were going haywire. Something warned him away from what lay behind him, but the opposing draw to it was unmistakable.

Fire.

With a start, he refocused on Aya-chan. She looked very much the same as she had before the horror of that evening, free of the soot and blood he was sure that she should have been covered in. Even now he could see her being thrown through the air by the blast, and hear her screams as the walls tumbled down around them. Even now he could not reach her.

He was startled out of his reverie by the press of cool hands against his cheeks. Hesitantly, with more reluctance than he believed possible, he met her eyes. They were warmer and more alive than they had been a moment ago, and however unconsciously he knew himself responsible.

"Don't think of that right now. There's something that you need to know."

* * *

The boy's mind was not quite what he had expected. Oh, there was the normal blankness of the unconscious, a consequence of the mind's attempt to heal itself but…Schuldig paused mid-step, keen gaze alighting on the edge of this world. The fact that there were seeable ends troubled him, and the presence of colour was disturbing.

No further proof of the boy's talent was needed.

Now all he could do was find the kid and gauge his –

"Whatever you do, don't go near it. Stay as far from it as you can, do you hear me?"

The slightly scolding voice echoed from somewhere nearby, and the telepath's jaw clenched as he recognised it. It was annoyingly similar to the brat's, something he would have thought impossible as he'd felt her pass on. Had the boy somehow…no, that couldn't be right. Then again, even the manifestation of a memory should have been unattainable in the boy's state. He had made sure of that personally.

Nevertheless, the older redhead quickened his stride, reaching out gently with his mind. Huh. He could feel the boy somewhere nearby, as well as another presence that was vaguely familiar, but not. Huh, again. No one with a Gift should have been able to enter the boy's mind, other than himself of course. If his own tampering hadn't ensured that, Ran's own barrier should have. The telepath's eyes narrowed.

If someone was trying to steal his quarry…

He grinned as the boy came into view.

…well, he would just have to deal with them.

* * *

"Stay away from it, Ran." His sister's voice was gentle, but commanding. He found himself nodding, despite not knowing what he was supposed to be avoiding. Surely Aya-chan had his best interest in mind, and that would have normally been enough to quell his curiosity. At the moment though, the uncertainty surrounding their location –and their circumstances—was a more pressing matter.

"Aya, where are we?"

The girl smiled gently, and his heart swelled in his chest. It was just as he'd remembered it, though now it seemed so far away. She opened her mouth to reply.

And then just as abruptly, dropped her hands from his face. His sister's sweet face twisted once more, her mouth set in a snarl, and she whirled away, taking up a protective stance before him.

"Ah, there's no need for that."

Ran's head snapped up, his own eyes widening in horror. No, it couldn't be.

The man with the blue eyes emerged from the fog, shaking his head lightly. One hand was shoved into the pocket of his jacket, the other raised in supplication, but Ran did not relax. Neither did his sister. If anything, she stood even firmer in the path of the stranger.

The man's gaze turned cold, the smile dropping from his lips. "I said, there's no need for that."

Aya-chan took a step forward, hands clenched at her sides. "I won't let you do this."

"Do what?" The stranger's voice was as chilly as his eyes. "It seems to me that you're the one stirring up trouble here." His head tipped slightly in Ran's direction, though his eyes never left Aya. "Isn't that right…Fujimiya Ran?"

Ran stood stock still, gaze flicking between the stranger's face and his sister's rigid back. How did he know his name? More importantly, how did he get here?

"I wouldn't worry about that just now." The man finally met his eyes, and Ran sensed his sister's panic.

"The question you should be asking is, what does this thing want?" He gestured towards Aya-chan.

"You bastard--"

"Does that sound anything like your beloved Aya-chan, boy?" The older redhead ignored the girl for the moment, moving easily towards the terrified young man. As he passed Aya, his hidden hand emerged swathed in bandages, touching the girl lightly on one stiff shoulder.

Aya _screamed_.

At the distressed cry, Ran took an involuntary step towards her, only to be stopped by the stranger's sudden grip on his own shoulder. Ran met his eyes, shrinking back as the man's grin reappeared.

"No, I wouldn't do that if I were you, liebling. That," he pointed to Aya-chan, "isn't really your sister."

"But of course you knew that already, didn't you?" The man's smile was predatory.

Ran's already tenuous grasp on his current reality wavered. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Aya-chan had turned back to face him, her expression wounded.

"Ran-nii…"

The man patted him on the face none too gently, drawing his attention back to him. "Nuh uh, focus. I won't have you slipping away again…not just yet."

"What are you…?"

"You – quiet."

Aya-chan staggered, dropping to her knees with a small cry. The man's eyes never left Ran's.

"Now then, we won't be interrupted for a while." The man's hand, the one without the bandages, swept through the boy's hair. Ran shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut against the unwavering gaze. "Don't be afraid Ran."

"Niisan, don't!"

The other man's smile sharpened. Aya-chan fell silent once more.

"Listen carefully now."

Ran felt warm. The man looked into his eyes, seemingly pleased by what he saw.

"As I was saying, that _thing_ isn't really your sweet Aya-chan. She's, uh, an approximation. A ghost, a ghoul." He shook the boy lightly. "Do you understand?"

He didn't wait for a reply, and Ran didn't offer one.

"Good." He shook Ran once more, then touched his hand to the boy's face. "Now hold still…this will only take a moment."

The sensation of something probing at his mind returned, and Ran moaned. Wherever this was, it couldn't be the afterlife.

The man swore in another language, and Ran flinched again, struggling to pull free. Patting his cheek, the older man smiled, but couldn't conceal the edge to it.

"This will be a problem." He murmured, pulling Ran closer. "But you'll wake up when you're ready, yes?"

Was he sleeping? Was that what this was; a nightmare?

"Who are you?" His voice shook, and the other man's gaze slid over to Aya-chan once more.

Ran tried again. "Who are you?" His voice was much steadier this time, and his captor seemed surprised. He let go of Ran's shoulder, executing a slight, mocking bow.

"The name's Schuldig." He cocked his head in the fallen girl's direction. "I'm surprised she didn't tell you as much."

Aya-chan glared up at him hatefully, and Schuldig's lip quirked. "Unless she didn't know…because you didn't."

Ran started, unsure of how to take that. What did Schuldig mean? As if he'd read his thoughts, the older man turned to him, hands resting lightly on his shoulders once more.

"Perhaps I'll tell you another day. For now though…" he trailed off, looking to Aya-chan once more. "I think a change of location is in order, don't you?"

Aya-chan jerked, her eyes desperate. "No, you can't!"

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" All of the amusement had been leeched from Schuldig's voice, and Ran once again felt the urge to flee.

Aya shook her head. "You can't do this…you won't."

Schuldig laughed. "You think to dictate to me here?"

The girl lifted her chin defiantly. "You have no power here – this is as much my place as it is his."

Schuldig stared at her for a moment before his gaze shifted to some point beyond the boy's shoulder. "I think not. If that were so, I would have been unable to enter."

Aya-chan was silent. Ran chanced a look at her, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. What were they talking about? What was happening here?

He was distrated from his thoughts by the press of lips to his forehead. "You think too much."

"I…I don't understand."

"Don't fret."

There was a sudden, vicious tug on his arm, and Ran was jerked away from the crumpled figure of his sister.

"You will."

Aya-chan cried out, but Schuldig did not falter, dragging him further and further away from the girl. The elder Fujimiya panicked as the grey void began to thicken, and twisted in Schuldig's grasp, desperate to free himself.

"But for now, you'll just keep on dreaming, won't you?"

(The light at the end of the earth)

The world bled into ocher, and Ran found himself hurtling beyond it…then nothing.


	3. And a long, hard road it shall be

Pairings: Schuldig x Ran, Yohji x Ran, Crawford + Schuldig + Ran

Warnings: Spoilers for entire series, severely AU, m/m relationships (a.k.a. yaoi), harsh language, violence, lemon...the list goes on and on.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters. I merely use them for my own amusement.

AN 1: I apologise in advance for this chapter. The story will slow down in coming entries, especially as I try, albeit briefly, to introduce Weiss. For now though, it's quick, dirty, and unquestionably confusing. Don't worry, it will be revised eventually.

* * *

**Demon's Dreaming**

**Chapter 3: "And a long, hard road it shall be."**

Brad Crawford had been gifted with the second sight, and it had served him well over the years. Unpredictable it may have been, but that was the price one paid for a Gift, and he was never one to complain.

As a child he had been witness to great and terrible things, all courtesy of his visions. The process had continued into adulthood, though the strength of his clairvoyance had not intensified. Still, he was proud of his Gift, and proud of the security it offered…most of the time.

Now was not one of those times.

Crawford had lingered in his office for longer than necessary after the telepath had retreated, ostensibly to lick his wounds and calm down after the night's events. Schuldig was as unpredictable as his own Gift, and Crawford had learned long ago not to push quite so hard when the man was feeling particularly unbalanced.

However, their employers were not so inclined. Unsatisfied with Crawford's visions of the near future, they had demanded that he further interrogate his subordinate, eager to learn more of their potential new talent. And Crawford knew that was how they viewed the boy: as an acquisition. Fujimiya Ran was theirs, even if he did not yet know it.

Turning away from the window, Crawford crossed to the doors leading out of his office, his face blank. It was not in his nature to feel sympathy, and he saw no reason to start now. Despite that, he hesitated in the hallway that would take him to Schuldig's bedroom. The telepath was dangerous while in such a state; his Gift was a handful even without the added push of stress and physical pain, and at the moment Crawford didn't wish to take any chances. Composing himself, he continued on his way, stopping only briefly to knock on Schuldig's door. When there was no answer, he opened it quietly and slid inside.

Crawford rarely ever entered his teammates' rooms, and Schuldig's was no exception. It was relatively spacious and airy for a Japanese room, but far less cluttered than he would have expected. The curtains were drawn tight, blocking the burgeoning rays of the early sun.

Schuldig barely moved, raising one eyelid to regard Crawford thoughtfully. After a moment of intense scrutiny, he turned onto his side, and the older man had to check his anger. While the action had all the air of a dismissal, he did not believe that was the telepath's only intent. If he didn't know any better, he would believe that Schuldig meant to hide his face.

The implications of such an act were not lost on Crawford. Obviously the man was up to something, and most likely it would not bode well for their little group. Schuldig, when focused, was a reasonable team player. Perhaps the previous evening's mission had rattled him even more than initially thought. Nevertheless…

"You said that the boy had been neutralised. What did you mean?"

There was a long silence and, irritated, he found himself turning to leave. Then Schuldig spoke, shifting minutely on the bed.

"To put it plainly, he won't be waking up anytime soon. That wasn't all my doing, nor my intention initially." Schuldig paused before beginning to speak again, his voice serious. "I realised however, that this state was necessary."

Crawford weighed his options, then chose to remain silent. Schuldig was in a remarkably sober mood, and he would elabourate sooner rather than later. He wasn't disappointed.

"His Gift is, for the moment, beyond his control." The telepath murmured, almost too low for Crawford to hear. The clairvoyant did however, and stiffened imperceptibly. Schuldig fell silent once more, knowing that his leader had understood.

Realising that Schuldig had answered any ensuing questions with his last statement, Crawford turned on his heel and re-entered the hallway, closing the door quietly behind him.

So his suspicions were correct, and Schuldig had indeed established further contact with Fujimiya's dormant mind. Crawford frowned. He and the telepath had come to an agreement long ago that if Schuldig's 'extracurricular' activities didn't interfere with their goal he would gladly turn a blind eye. As of now he couldn't foresee any possible complications stemming from the Fujimiya boy's state and Schuldig's interest.

Nonetheless, as he walked back to his office he was already formulating their next course of action. While he had little to no input with the higher-ups, they trusted him to some extent – including knowing to go where he was needed. The sooner they were out of the area, the better, Crawford rationalised, ignoring his vague sense of unease.

* * *

Ran Fujimiya had never wanted for anything in his life. His father was the requisite provider of the family, his mother nurturing and caring, and his beloved younger sister thoughtful and affectionate. He was well-liked in school and made good grades; he was considered by all who met him to be a pleasant, mature young man.

How ironic then that his safest place was not the comfort and affluence of his family's home, but an imagined stretch of wilderness from a childhood fairytale.

Upon waking he initially curled deeper into himself, untouched by the warmth of the sun shining high above him. This place was different from the grey world he and his sister had inhabited only moments before, but in a way, was just as desolate. He had the feeling that if he willed it, he could populate this place with anything he wished…but after the uncertainty of that time before, he wanted only one thing.

"Aya-chan."

As if on cue the girl appeared, stepping carefully over the trunks of fallen trees as she made her way out of the forest. Ran watched her silently, wincing at each stumble, though too drained to go over and offer his assistance.

There was no need. Aya eventually reached the end of the wooded area and made her way over, hands clasped before her solemnly. "Nii-san…I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting."

Ran blinked. That wasn't quite right, and strongly reminded him of his first encounter with the spectre. Had that Schuldig character been right?

Before his eyes the image of his sister seemed to falter, and suddenly she was bounding towards him, arms outstretched.

"Where have you been Ran? I've been waiting forever!"

As the girl wrapped her arms around him, the weight of her body jolting him backwards, he realised.

This wasn't Aya-chan.

His own arms rose hesitantly, before he returned the embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head. If he concentrated, he could almost smell the scent of her shampoo, faint and familiar.

But only if he thought about it.

He gently pushed at her shoulders, half-expecting her to cling to him. Instead she retreated readily, eyes dark and unreadable. When Ran finally spoke, his voice was deep, his conviction firm.

"You're not my sister."

The girl did not flinch, nor look away. If anything her gaze grew more intense.

"No, I'm not."

He took some pride in the fact that he simply did not crumble and fall away, and that his sudden devastation did not seem to show. Nevertheless, the girl's expression took on some semblance of pity.

"Your sister _is_ dead, Ran. You knew that."

Yes, he had known. He had felt her die, and it had been a knife to his heart. But to be faced with the reality of it, to have it presented as immutable fact, was more than he could possibly hope to bear.

Almost immediately the sky began to darken, accompanied by an oncoming cold. The thing masquerading as Aya-chan looked up as the heavens broke, and the rain began to fall. Undaunted, it began to speak again.

"There was nothing you could have done to save her, you know. It was her—_our_—fate."

The downpour continued, and Ran wavered on his feet, but did not sink to his knees. No, he thought fiercely, he wouldn't give it the satisfaction of that.

"I'm not Aya-chan, not really. But I suppose a part of me is, and you can take comfort in that if you wish."

The look she gave him was undoubtedly filled with pity, and he bowed his head, refusing to let the tears fall.

"She loved you Ran, never forget that. And I do too, in my own way." Again she moved to cup his face, her hands growing warmer as he reveled in the comfort her touch afforded. He was soaked now, and the cold that had surrounded him since the explosion now stemmed from his very bones. He found even this false ease preferable to that.

"I wish…I wish that I was really Aya-chan. I can't help it, if that's what you truly want."

The girl's voice was soft, but he heard her clearly. The meaning of her words was anything but.

Ran frowned, leaning into the warmth of her body unconsciously. "I don't understand." She wasn't Aya, but she reminded him of her, even if only superficially. "What is this?"

The girl ignored his question, her arms lowering to her sides, leaving Ran bereft of heat once more.

"He can still reach you here." She held his gaze, lips curling into a soft smile. "But I'll protect you, just as you protected me."

All around them, the rain continued to fall.

* * *

Schuldig had not planned to touch the boy's mind again so soon. Truth be told, the amount of energy he had expended during his last visit had troubled him, and the idea of trekking even further into Ran's consciousness was an ordeal he had no intention of enduring so quickly. But Crawford's visit and his subsequent announcement of their impending departure from the region had jarred the telepath. Granted, he could still keep an 'eye' on Ran from a considerable distance and the boy's status had little chance of changing anytime soon, but Schuldig suspected that Crawford's sudden desire to leave the area had little to do with their orders.

Picking his way through the woods, Schuldig turned his mind to equally puzzling things. He wasn't very familiar with the boy's mind as of yet, but as far as he knew Ran Fujimiya was a sheltered city boy. Why in hell would the inner depths of his psyche resemble a German forest?

It seemed to be an eternity before he emerged from the wooded area, only to be faced with another anachronism. A far-reaching shoreline came into view, the ocean dark and tumultuous. Schuldig could feel the reason for that as raindrops peppered his skin, and momentarily ignoring the strangeness of it all, he turned to find his subject.

Only to find him facing the other Fujimiya spawn, the girl's arms wrapped around her brother's waist.

Something vicious sparked to life in Schuldig, and before they could spot him, he was already beside the boy. Ran looked up from his scrutiny of Aya-chan's hair and fairly gaped at him. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to open his mouth and warn the girl before Schuldig was upon him.

"Take a rest."

Almost immediately the boy was slumping in the little spectre's arms, with her struggling to support his sudden dead weight. The girl glanced over one shoulder, her own eyes growing wide with alarm as she spotted the older man. After a moment of jostling Ran's body, she allowed her own knees to collapse, bringing the both of them to the ground gently.

"Why did you—"

Schuldig cut her off with an imperious wave of his hand, satisfied when the girl's mouth snapped shut. Above them the rain petered off, tapering down to a drizzle before stopping completely. There. Now he could see the sun through the clouds.

The girl was still kneeling, Ran's upper body balanced in her lap. Hesitantly, she began to comb through his hair with her fingers. A nervous habit, Schuldig guessed, though one he couldn't confirm since the subject happened to be dead.

"I should kill you, brat." His tone was almost affectionate, belied only by his eyes. "But I can't quite do that, now can I?"

"You could," the girl replied, her own eyes narrowing even as she continued to stroke Ran's hair gently, "but you won't. You'd risk too much."

Schuldig glared, gaze softening as it moved to the slumbering boy. He had never experienced the loss this child had, but in some ways he could understand the threat Ran faced. His power had been difficult to master, and during his training he had come dangerously close to fracturing on more than one occasion. But Ran's Gift didn't work quite the same way his did, aside from the obvious difference in effect.

"Enough chit-chat. My employers," he spat, "grow impatient. I'll only ask this once: what is he?"

The girl appeared startled, as her fingers stopped their endless carding through the boy's hair.

Schuldig sighed. "What is his Gift?"

Aya-chan smirked, the expression decidedly out of place. "I thought you said that you'd only ask once?"

The telepath waved his good hand impatiently. He could barely resist the urge to wrap his hands around the girl's neck and squeeze, but she was right: it was a greater risk than he could take at the moment. And until he was sure of how she and the boy were connected…

Wait.

Schuldig eyed the girl curiously, taking in her stiff posture, as well as the brittle smile on her lips. It would be easy to rip her mind apart for the answer, but in this instance he didn't think that would be prudent or indeed necessary. No, the answer lay right before his eyes, and he'd seized on it before – only to dismiss it as unlikely.

"You don't know, do you?" He was gloating, petty and immature as it may have been. Then again, he'd never been the most gracious of opponents.

Aya-chan's shoulders straightened further, though her chin drooped even lower towards her chest.

"Oh, this is rich." Shaking his head, Schuldig gave a snort of laughter. His suspicion that the bitch wasn't really Fujimiya Aya had proven to be true, and it seemed that his assertion at their last meeting had as well. "You claimed that this," he swept his arm in an arc to indicate their surroundings, "was as much yours as his. You weren't kidding were you?" The telepath grinned maliciously. "You're not a ghost – you're a fucking _memory_."

The girl did flinch then, slumping forward until her face was buried in Ran's hair.

"A memory…a completely useless one at that. It just proves the kid isn't a telepath though, to have conjured up something as worthless as you for a companion." Schuldig looked at the girl with something akin to disgust. "Feh, a waste of time. I should destroy you right now."

"You won't though." The girl's voice was soft. "It's still too much of a risk."

Schuldig snarled, hands clenching into fists. Fuck persuasion. If the girl wanted to play hardball, he would be happy to oblige her. Ignoring the pain of his injured hand, the telepath strode forward until he was in reach of Aya, then roughly grabbed her by the arm. Ran drooped in her lap, seemingly oblivious to the girl's distressed cry, his breaths still even with undisturbed sleep.

"Don't fuck around with me, girlie." Schuldig shook her hard, fingers jabbing into the tender flesh of her arm. "I'm tired of your games. Now, you tell me all that you know, or so help me I'll rip you apart no matter the consequences." He released her arm, satisfied that he had made his point. "Now talk."

"You're right – he did create me, in a way. But I've always been here, in one form or another." Her voice grew in strength, though her head did not rise. "Aya's will was stronger than you realise, and we…" The girl faltered, then seemed to shake herself, continuing. "_She_ ensured that I retained some of her memories." She help up one hand, halting Schuldig's impending question. "Don't ask me why, or how. When she died, Ran was in her head…or she was in his…I can't be sure. So as much as he had a hand in it, I think she did too – even if she didn't mean to." At this the girl's head did rise, her face flushed with something indefinable. "Listen: he _can_ mold me, but only _I_ can create this world. If you kill me, there'll be nothing for you to return to…"

Schuldig was silent, his smile not quite as sharp as before. So the boy's psyche had fractured, and this girl was the result. But had she been created as the boy has stared down at his parents' bodies, as his sister had passed from this world to the next, or sometime before? The bitch had said that she'd been around for a while after all…that implied that she had existed before the murder of the Fujimiya family. If so, when had she --?

Scheisse. Of course.

When the boy's Gift had first manifested.

He glanced at the slumbering boy, then back to the girl. Her eyes still held a spark of defiance, and Schuldig realised that the little chit thought she had won. He scowled. Despite her insistence that she was crucial to the boy's well-being, he fully planned to destroy her the second she outlived her usefulness.

"You're speaking in riddles." He drawled, gaze hooded. "And forget what you've said; I have no qualms about throttling you."

The girl's hands tightened into fists, resting lightly on the unaware Ran's chest. Schuldig could feel her struggling for control, and watched her carefully lest she launch some sort of attack against him…or the boy.

"Go ahead, kill me."

'Don't tempt me.' Schuldig thought sourly, resisting the urge to skim her mind for her intentions. 'But then again, there may not be a mind to tear apart, judging from the way she prattled on.'

"But know this," the girl matched his glare, her eyes hateful, "if you destroy me, everything he knows, including this place, disappears. You'll never learn a thing, because he won't remem—" The girl hastily shut her mouth, eyes widening.

There was a moment of tense silence, during which the only noise was Ran's light breathing and the distant crash of waves against rock. The telepath drank in the girl's anxiety over what she had inadvertently revealed, and felt a bit better about this visit. Ha, he suddenly felt better about a lot of things, to tell the truth.

"Fine."

The girl started, jaw clenching reflexively. Hmm, the level of detail really was astounding. If she was what he now believed her to be, there was no real point in having her appear as the younger Fujimiya brat. Perhaps she wasn't lying about Aya's influence on her creation; it would have functioned just as well as one of these damned fir trees. As it stood, Schuldig wouldn't be able to do much more than bide his time and hope for a slip-up, minute as it would most likely be. Until then, he would find a way to hold the kid together after her destruction became a reality. Heh, reality. As if this was anything close to the real world.

"I'll wait." He took a few steps forward, stopping only when he towered over the girl and her sleeping burden. "The boy misses his sister, yes? He couldn't have taken your little ah, revelation, well." Staring at her hard for another long moment, he waited for a sign of understanding before turning on his heel and making his way back to the forest. It was high time to return to the penthouse and update Crawford, in hopes of appeasing their superiors for yet another week. It wouldn't do for the higher ups to act too hastily.

* * *

As much as she hated to admit it, Schuldig was right. It would be better, for all involved really, if Ran simply forgot their conversation before the older man had re-entered the picture.

Somehow it sounded more like an excuse than anything else. For the moment though, it couldn't be helped.

Aya frowned, splaying her hands on the crown of Ran's head, body tight with concentration…and guilt. Realistically, she shouldn't have been able to feel such an emotion, but she hadn't lied when she'd told Schuldig about Aya-chan's influence. Even now a sense of sisterly concern struggled to the foreground, and for a moment she entertained the thought of letting the boy stay privy to her true nature, and hopefully able to better contend with Schuldig's manipulations. The moment passed, and she pressed her hands resolutely to his head again, lips pursed. It literally hurt to do this but…

The girl calmly pulled her hands away from Ran, moving them to rest upon her own chest. It wouldn't spare him any pain, but it felt less like a direct manipulation on her part. Closing her eyes, she went still, grimacing slightly as the memory was revealed and then – there, it was gone.

Exhausted, she considered simply curling up beside Ran and falling asleep, but decided against it. It wasn't as though she actually needed rest, she thought bitterly, but then again, neither did he. Not here. Coming to a decision, she gently shook the boy's shoulder, patting at his cheek with a cool hand when he didn't stir.

"Ran? Ran? Nii-san, it's time to wake up."

The redhead shifted in her lap, his features tight with exhaustion. After a moment he sat up, blinking slowly, then scrubbed at his face with his palm.

"Ah, Aya? I'm sorry – I don't know what came over me."

Aya smiled beatifically, though it felt as though her face would crack from the strain. "Don't worry about it nii-san…you needed the rest."

"Hn." Ran ran his fingers through his hair, frowning as he took in their surroundings. "What is this place?"

Ah, it seemed he would no longer recognise the landscape. She shrugged inwardly; it was of little consequence, a memory perhaps left buried as it spoke of happier times. Ignoring the deep ache in her chest, an aftereffect of her recent actions, Aya clambered to her feet, holding out a hand to help Ran rise as well. After a moment of hesitation he accepted, standing with a wince and a sheepish smile.

"I've never seen anything like it." Ran murmured.

Startled, Aya followed the direction of his gaze up to the sky. Above them, the clouds moved in an endless spectrum of light. The deeper, longer bands were tinged with a familiar shade of ocher, and the girl's eyes narrowed in contemplation.

"What do you think it is, Aya-chan?"

"I'm not quite sure." She replied. "It's pretty though, isn't it?"

* * *

Notes: Hmm, I should probably clarify a few things, albeit briefly. While no one has asked, and I doubt that it could be sufficiently gathered from what has been written thus far, I have a certain amount of disdain for fanon Schuldig; namely his "past" as an abused child or a former whore. There is no evidence for either in the manga or anime and as such, will not appear here (of course, there's no evidence of homo- or bisexuality either…unless you count _Tokyo Sling_). I will say this though: I'm picking and choosing from both incarnations of Schuldig. The fact that he is confirmed to be German is from the manga, his hair and eye colour are from the anime, as is his general temperament. Feel free to ask me to elabourate further if necessary!

Oh, and lastly, this is for **Ptath**: Aya-chan having a Gift? Hmm, you'll just have to wait and see on that one! Here's a big hint on the Ran front though – (the model for) his power wasn't seen in Kapitel as far as I can remember…but it did appear in Glühen.


	4. Interlude Girl in the Box

Pairings: Schuldig x Ran, Yohji x Ran, Crawford + Schuldig + Ran

Warnings: Spoilers for entire series, severely AU, m/m relationships (a.k.a. yaoi), harsh language, violence, lemon...the list goes on and on.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters. I merely use them for my own amusement.

* * *

**Demon's Dreaming**

**Chapter 4: Interlude – Girl in the Box**

The sun was shining.

Tilting her face toward the sky, Aya basked in the warmth of the sun's rays, allowing her eyes to drift closed. For the moment she was at peace.

That was, until Schuldig's face surfaced in her mind, his cruel, mocking words still echoing in her ears.

Feeling her eyes beginning to water, she rubbed at them with the back of her hands furiously, then chanced a look at her brother.

Who was sitting beside the shore, chin resting on his raised knees, just as he had been the last time she had looked.

There was no sense of the passage of time here, and what seemed like hours could have been days on the outside. But then, the opposite held true as well.

In any case, time didn't really matter to her.

Aya-chan's memories sometimes threatened to overtake Ran's own, and at times Aya felt that one day she would open her mouth and they would come bubbling out, swirling like some fantastical multi-coloured cloud. She refused to acknowledge that that thought in and of itself was typical of Aya-chan.

Unlike Ran, she did not have the luxury of forgetting the man called Schuldig's threats, or his presence. No, she remembered the pain and terror, as well as the spite and disgust that rolled off of him in waves. He hated her, for reasons that she could not even begin to fathom. He wished her dead, even if the fulfillment of that wish would cause Ran irrevocable harm.

She glanced at her brother out of the corner of her eye, not surprised to find that he had not moved.

What did that man want with Ran anyway? Where did his interest lie?

Schuldig's talk of a Gift had sparked something inside of her, something she recognised as a facet of the girl whose face she now wore. Despite that, she truly had no idea of what the man was talking about. Ran was special, of that she was sure; his memories and experiences were locked inside of her, and she could not have denied that fact if she wished to. But…they were one side of a story that she could never hope to understand, due to her nature. If she were to consult Aya-chan's memories, perhaps things would become a bit—

Of course.

Aya sat up a bit straighter, turning to face her brother fully. It wouldn't do to demonstrate her own abilities in front of him – though Ran was convinced that she meant him no harm, she could sense a growing suspicion in him that she was not what she claimed to be. It seemed she hadn't managed to eradicate that after all.

"Nii-san, I'm going to take a look around. Will you be okay by yourself?"

Ran simply shrugged, not bothering to look up as she stood and began to walk away. Well, that confirmed it. Subconsciously, he knew. She cursed herself for not having the strength to fully destroy what was an intricate part of her.

And cursed Ran for not seeming to care that his precious 'Aya-chan' was wandering off all by her lonesome.

A few minutes later, and she was huddled beside a stream that ran through the forest, far enough from Ran's location to ensure that he wouldn't hear or see anything untoward. Her discretion was as much for her own protection as it was his. Freeing her hands from their cradle below her knees, Aya leaned forward, staring into the depths of the water. There. She focused on her face, knowing somehow that the blank expression she currently sported wasn't right. With some effort she schooled her features into a more acceptable expression, and something within her stirred once more. It took a bit more energy not to beat that little bit of light into submission, but if she wished to learn anything more about Ran's supposed "Gift" she couldn't very well do that. No, for this she would need the real Aya's cooperation and even, she thought grudgingly, her permission.

It was easy to separate Aya-chan's memories from Ran's own, despite her constant fear of them blending. Aya-chan's presence was alien, a foreign body she would gladly expel if given the chance and the drive. Now though, she needed them if she ever hoped to protect Ran-- and herself.

Focused as she was on her reflection and the distasteful task at hand, she didn't recognise the strange warmth in her chest until it had spread, and by then it was too late.

'_Go away_.' The thought was vicious, but the warmth did not relent. If anything it increased, and Aya sighed, thoughts drifting to the boy sitting by the seashore. She had promised to protect him from Schuldig, and if this was the price she paid…so be it.

The memories suddenly rushed into her in a veritable flood, and she gritted her teeth against them, struggling to find the ones pertinent to her little investigation. Some were perused and carelessly tossed aside, and some, like the memory of Aya-chan's first hanami, came dangerously close to being torn apart and discarded forever. She had just begun to write off this little endeavour as pointless when a flash of familiar colour caught her attention.

Shit.

It had to mean something, this colour. It had tinged the ends of Ran's dreaming world, and now here it had become a permanent fixture in the sky. There was nothing in Ran's memories to suggest any significance to the shade, but it showed up in the limited amount of Aya-chan's memories that she held, again and again.

Aya frowned, hands tangling in her hair and tugging gently. There were flashes of something, events and images that Aya-chan had found both wonderful and terrible, and all centered around Ran. Try as she might though, she could not find an answer to her question.

That last thought gave her pause. Was it possible that Aya-chan was somehow…blocking her? She believed that the girl hadn't given up all of her memories before her death, but the vast majority of the amount she had were pertinent to her brother. Given that, she was sure that at least one would reveal Ran's supposed abilities, but she couldn't seem to find anything of the sort.

Was the girl protecting Ran, even in death?

Trying again, she gritted her teeth against the warmth building in her breast, yanking harder on her hair. Aya-chan's desire, namely to protect Ran it seemed, was irrelevant now. She **had** to know.

The sensation of heat increased until it was almost unbearable, but still she hung on, eyes squeezed shut. No no no; she wouldn't be beaten. This was too important to allow one dead girl to get in her way.

Behind her eyelids, a peculiar thing took place. Scenes of the Fujimiya siblings' childhood played in rapid succession, her mind leaping from one to the next as they proved unrewarding. Aya sped through them, darting each to each with growing desperation. Surely her enduring of this agony wasn't completely in vain. One of them had to yield a result.

As she came to the last, she focused all of her energy upon it, displeased when it turned out to be a memory from right before Aya Fujimiya's death. She was just about to discard it with the rest when something caught her eye.

The fleeting touch of a familiar shade.

Frustrated, she tore into it, ignoring a sudden twinge of pain from Ran's end. That would have to be remedied later.

/ The girl's memory was fractured: a mishmash of blood and fire, terrible in its intensity. She dug deeper, and the image of the pair's mother and father emerged, their bodies twisted and bloody on the floor of their sitting room. Yes, she remembered this; the pool of blood that spread from beneath their corpses until it nearly touched her shoes. She remembered leaping back in disgust and horror, then turning to Ran, her heart thumping in her chest.

She remembered the organ nearly stuttering to a stop at the expression on her brother's face. His eyes were flat and dead, his face rigid, hands clenched at his sides. She had seen him like this only once before and…her heart flared in terror.

"_Ran…Ran, please?"_

His hands relaxed, and she had just a second to step back, just one brief moment to get clear, before it began. Then the heat, and the leaping flames, and the sound of her own screams consumed her, and she was spiraling into nothingness even as their home crumbled around them, with only the memory of her brother's cold, dark gaze to accompany her. /

Aya jerked back to awareness with a start, bracing herself on her arms to avoid tumbling into the water, all the while sucking in great gulps of air. So this was it then…this was what Aya-chan had been protecting. This was what Schuldig had threatened to destroy her for. The irony of the situation hit her and she began to laugh, a low gurgle that soon grew into hysterical chuckling as she panted and sobbed all at the same time. There was a ring of girlish laughter so unlike her own, and she sobered, peering fearfully into the water. Aya-chan stared back, eyes wide and haunted. Now she knew. Now they both knew.

What use was it?

What use was it if Ran couldn't even _control_ it?

She thrust her hand into the water with a growl, satisfied by the way her reflection wavered and broke apart, then dissipated completely. Still, the tinkling of warm laughter surrounded her, haunting her even as she clapped her hands over her ears and stumbled to her feet. The sound followed her on her flight from the woods and all the way back to the beach, though the sight before her made it cut off abruptly.

Ran was standing – for the first time in days, she assumed – facing the sea. That was not particularly alarming.

The fact that Schuldig was standing close beside him however, was.

The older man looked over his shoulder suddenly, and Aya took an involuntary step back, nearly tripping over a fallen tree. Schuldig regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before tipping his chin in the direction of the woods behind her. A moment later Aya was on the move, her feet carrying her back into the forest, despite her struggle for control. From the shoreline she could hear movement, then the unmistakable sound of Schuldig's voice.

"Alone at last."

* * *

Notes: Okay, a really short chapter, but one that was hopefully a little revealing. There will be several "interludes" in this story, and most will focus on only one of the main characters: Ran, "Aya," Schuldig, and Yohji. Speaking of everyone's favourite playboy, he shows up next chapter – I hope. Cheers, all! 


	5. Venus Smiles

Pairings: Schuldig x Ran, Yohji x Ran, Crawford + Schuldig + Ran

Warnings: Spoilers for entire series, severely AU, m/m relationships (a.k.a. yaoi), harsh language, violence, lemon...the list goes on and on.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters. I merely use them for my own amusement.

* * *

**Demon's Dreaming**

**Chapter 5: Venus Smiles**

It was cold.

Too cold, in fact. Yohji Kudoh blinked one eye open, turning over under the covers until the far wall was in sight. Ah, that explained it: the blasted window was wide open, the shade drawn back to allow weak sunlight to filter in. Shivering, the young man briefly considered getting up to close it before dismissing the idea. Too much work; it would be much easier to simply bundle up a bit more, and would be much less taxing on his aching head. Speaking of aching -- he'd apparently had a bit too much to drink last night, judging from the way his head was pounding and by the dryness of his mouth. Scrubbing the back of his hand over his lips, the brunet once again eyed the window speculatively, calculating the actual effort involved in getting up to close it. His bed was already so warm…

Making up his mind, he slid his legs out from under the top sheet, scowling at the drastic change in termperature. Shit, he didn't even remember opening his window last night…but then again, he couldn't quite recall stumbling home after a night of partying either. The first touch of his foot to the floor was a shock, enough to jar him completely out of bed and across the room. Tottering to the window he struggled to close it, breathing a sigh of relief when it slid shut with a heavy clink. One task done. Now to make it back to his bed in one piece.

He'd barely made it back into bed before the knocking started.

"Fuck." He glanced at his bedside clock. His shift had started over an hour ago. If he kept quiet, Ken would eventually give up and go away. Then he could grab a quick nap, and hustle down to the flowershop before Omi returned from school.

The knocking continued unabated, and Yohji cursed once more, swinging his legs out from under the covers and readying to stand. "Hold your fucking horses Ken!" That dumb jock really got on his nerves sometimes, and it was high time he beat some sense into him. Grumbling, he decided to do just that, pushing himself up and taking a step towards the door – only to fall back when it swung open, revealing the figure on the other side. It wasn't Ken.

"Asu…Asuka?"

It was impossible, but there she was; clothes just as tattered and bloodied as they were the last time he'd seen her.

She was smiling.

He was moving before the door had fully settled, determined to reach his lost lover before she could disappear again. A few steps from the doorway and he nearly leapt on her, embracing her with enough force to send her staggering. He buried his face in her hair, ignoring the sudden wetness on his arms.

There was a startled gasp, then: "Yo—Yohji-kun!"

He opened one eye, then another. The person in his arms was much shorter than he remembered and had…blond hair?

Fuck.

Omi was staring up at him, blue eyes averted carefully, though he made no move to escape the older man's arms.

"Uh…do you think you could let go now, Yohji?"

"Sorry." He unwound his arms from about the boy's body and took a step back, before deciding to go whole hog and return to his warm—lonely—bed. Omi hesitated for a moment before crossing the threshold of the doorway, still avoiding his eyes. Great. He'd come embarrassingly close to molesting the kid because he'd mistaken him for his dead girlfriend. If the floorboards had opened up and swallowed him at the moment, he wouldn't have protested.

Yohji was already sitting on the edge of his bed by the time Omi made it all the way inside, fidgeting uncomfortably. He'd have to make it up to his teammate somehow, someway. And fast.

"I brought you something to drink." Omi thrust the hand holding the glass forward. "I take it you had a fun night?"

"Thanks, Omi." Accepting the glass of water, he slid beneath his sheets once more, making sure to pull them up to his waist. No use in flashing the kid and scarring him even more than he already had. "Fun isn't the word I'd choose but…it was fine, I guess." He grabbed blindly for his pack of smokes and his lighter, desperate for something to distract him. He lit one and inhaled, settling back amongst his pillows with a sigh.

"Ah." Omi was quiet, and Yohji began to fidget again. "I'm sorry I-" The boy hesitated. "Sorry to have barged in like that. I was knocking and knocking, and I wanted to make sure you were okay so…are you okay?"

"I'm just tired, nothing to worry about." The older man took another drag from his cigarette, averting his eyes. Shit, he had almost leveled Omi, and that was the best he could come up with? Better that than admitting that there was a good chance he was finally cracking up. "I had a rough night." He amended lamely, taking a sip of water and wondering if it were really possible to choke on your own lies.

"Yohji-kun…" The boy fell silent, eyes downcast. After a moment of awkward silence, he perked up, forcing a smile for the older man's sake. "I haven't quite finished drawing up parameters for tonight's mission. I'll let you know when I'm done, okay?"

The older man nodded, and Omi hastened to leave the room, shutting the door quietly behind. As soon as he was gone, Yohji set down the glass, ground out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray, and buried his head under the pillows.

He was losing it.

* * *

"Alone at last."

Ran barely spared Schuldig a glance, knowing enough about the older man to have gathered that he would most likely be smirking at the moment. Despite his instinctual dislike, or rather, fear, of the man at their first meeting, it had been a long time since he had seen anyone other than Aya. Not that he could tell how long it had been, trapped in this place as he was, but from his growing impatience he could safely say that it was a lot longer than he appreciated.

"Is this a dream?" He already knew the answer, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

"No. It's much deeper than a dream." Schuldig replied. "But in a way, I suppose that's exactly what it is. This is your mind, after all."

"Ah." Like it or not, that clarified things a bit, and assured him that he wasn't really dead. "Will I ever stop dreaming?"

For a second he thought that the other man wouldn't answer. Perhaps he didn't know. There was always the chance that this 'Schuldig' was simply a creation of his mind as well, someone else he had held on to in order to keep the worst of the loneliness at bay.

"I have the ability to wake you." Schuldig admitted after a moment, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder. He felt it tense, then relax as Ran shifted his weight closer to him. "But I won't. Not yet."

"I see." The young man fell silent, staring out at the sea once more. He may have been bored out of his mind, but he wasn't altogether sure that he wished to wake up, to have to face the reality of being alone in the world. He had lost his parents, his sister, and his home; he had nothing to wake up to, or to go on living for. Perhaps it would be better if he dwelled in this place for as long as he could, until he finally passed on and could be reunited with his loved ones.

"You won't be alone." Schuldig said, moving his hand to play with the boy's hair absently. It was almost as if he had read Ran's mind.

"I did." The older man tapped the side of his head with one finger, turning to gaze into the boy's eyes. "Ironically, it isn't as easy to do here. It might have something to do with you being in control but…"

"In control?" Ran interrupted, mind racing. What did Schuldig mean? He basically meandered around the beach for most of his day, Aya watching him cautiously from her own spot on the shore. There was nothing to lord over in a place this barren. "In control of what?"

Schuldig looked at him, seemingly puzzled, before smiling slowly. He nodded, then pointed to the sky. "It should be nighttime."

"What?" Ran's irritation grew at the change in subject. "What does that have to do with anything? Tell me what you meant!"

"Just think about it, Ran. It's evening, out in the real world. The weather has actually been pretty clear for the last few days."

The boy looked up at the sky, eyes narrowing. "It doesn't matter to me what time of day it is. I can't see it."

"That's irrelevant. It's around er, 10pm right now."

"Fine, it's nighttime! I don't get why it matters…" Ran trailed off as the sky inexplicably darkened, his eyes going wide. What was going on?

"_Gut_, just as I thought." Schuldig looked him over appreciably, pleased by Ran's obvious confusion. "As I said: this is your world, not hers. Take advantage of it."

"I did this?" Ran looked at the older man in question, before shaking his head. Stupid question. Schuldig had basically goaded him into it, repeating over and over just how he should shape his current world, and out of frustration he had followed. "Are you sure?"

The man—the _mind reader_, Ran amended—seemed taken aback by the question.

"Aya…Aya can make things happen here. Mostly to amuse me but…" Ran hesitated. He wasn't sure just how much he should reveal to Schuldig, though taking the man's abilities into account, it really shouldn't have mattered. "If I remember something—anything—she can recreate it. Maybe she's doing this now, wherever she's run off to."

"That little..." Schuldig shook his head, smirking. "Listen carefully, kid: she's a _part_ of you; a fragment, a facet. The only power she has is what you give her. Don't let your…sister…tell you otherwise."

"You act as though she's deliberately deceiving me."

"She's twisting your mind to suit her own needs. Seems the little bitch has developed a taste for freedom." The older man grimaced. "She needs to be brought to heel, and quickly."

"Shut up." Ran hissed, suffused with a heretofore unknown emotion. "You don't know anything."

"Ah, silly boy. I know _everything_." Schuldig turned away, seeming to scan the forest, before returning his attention to the boy. "Duty calls, Liebchen. Aya should be returning shortly – hopefully knocked down a few pegs."

Ran stayed just out of his reach. "What are you talking about? What have you done to her?"

"Nothing much." Schuldig studied his face carefully before shrugging, before gazing at the forest once more. "She would have interfered with our little discussion, and it could have gotten quite…nasty, honestly. I saw to it that she removed herself for a little while, that's all."

It wasn't long before Aya appeared at the edge of the woods, her steps surer than normal. Schuldig watched her intently, and as the girl came closer Ran realised that her eyes were trained on the telepath as well. Ran recognised the emotion in her gaze and turned away.

"Welcome back." Schuldig said pleasantly as Aya neared them. He patted Ran on the shoulder once, then began his own journey back into the forest. "I'll be leaving you two now. I'm sure you have much to discuss, no?"

Aya flinched as he passed her, her footsteps faltering, but then righted herself and hurried to Ran. She looked him over for a long moment, her mouth working soundlessly. After a glance over her shoulder, she finally addressed him. "What did he do to you?"

Ran wasn't surprised. The animosity between Aya and Schuldig was undeniable. "Nothing."

"What did he say?" Aya pressed.

"He said that he'll wake me up. Eventually." He hastened to add the last, not wanting to get her hopes up too much. That was part of the reason why her reaction surprised him.

"You can't let him do that."

"What?" He looked at her sharply, hackles rising. That didn't make any sense. Didn't she want him to return to the real world? He didn't move when she grabbed his arms, and didn't speak.

"Ran, you can't!" The girl shook him hard and Ran gaped, surprised at her strength.

"Aya, _let go_."

She spoke again, her fingers digging into his biceps. "You can't trust him."

"What are you…?"

"Don't you get it?" Her face twisted, features contorted with rage and…fear? "He's a monster! He can read minds; he's evil! A demon!" She was fairly screaming now, voice choked with anger.

"Stop it." His voice was quiet, but brooked no argument.

Aya's mouth snapped shut, stunned into silence by his order and dismissal, her eyes wide and hurt. Ran resisted the urge to comfort her, and felt something go cold within him. She wasn't really his sister, his mind provided. As much as he tried to deny it, that was the truth, and he could no longer run away from it. But there was something else he could no longer hide from as well.

"What am I, Aya? You said that Schuldig is a monster – what does that make me?"

The girl flinched again, apparently stung.

"You know something, and you're not telling me. I told myself that it was fine but…"

He was disgusted, with both her and himself, and he turned away, anger building slowly.

"Ran, please stop."

"Stop what?" He whirled around to face her, eyes blazing. "I'm not doing anything!"

Aya's brow knitted in confusion. "You don't feel it?"

"Feel what?" He was lying through his teeth, but if Schuldig was right, she surely knew it. He did feel a bit different; warmer, though he gladly attributed it to his anger and frustration. Even as he looked into her widening eyes, he could tell that wasn't the case.

She took a step back, then another, shaking her head frantically. "Brother, please don't. I'm sorry."

Brother. Brother. Aya-chan had said it more times than he could count, with much more affection than this girl ever had. Nii-san. He saw without seeing.

This girl—this _thing_—was afraid of him. Aya-chan had never feared him as, sweet as she could be, she was more prone to temper than he.

This 'Aya' was a pale imitation of his sister. She wasn't even what he wanted her to be.

The girl was still backing up, her hands raised to ward him off. He felt another jolt of anger go through him, all of the rage he'd kept bottled up inside for the past few days? Months? Years? He couldn't take it anymore; the monotony of his everyday existence. He couldn't even tell when the sun rose and fell, or even if it had—he was trapped in this parody of reality with a girl who wore his sister's face. And he wanted out.

"I'm sick of this—this place. I'm sick of you, and him," he jerked his thumb in the direction in which Schuldig had vanished, "telling me what I can and cannot do."

Aya was still moving, her eyes widening comically with each word. Not only was Ran fighting—fighting her—but he truly didn't seem to know what he was doing. Or rather, what his so-called 'Talent' was doing. A burst of heat from behind her had her whirling to face it, and she shrieked in terror, whipping back to face Ran again. This was insane. She had to stop him, before he destroyed everything that they had built.

Or worse, before he accidentally destroyed her.

"Ran, calm down, ple-"

"I'm sick of it." The boy interrupted, eyes cold and dark. "And I'm getting out."

* * *

The mission had gone relatively well, if you ignored the fact that Yohji and Ken had come quite close to having their brains blown out. As it was, Ken had been forced into an overnight hospital stay, while Yohji had been patched up, given a measly pile of pain medication, and sent on his way.

They had retrieved the necessary data, so at least Omi was happy. The teen walked briskly down the hallway, stopping periodically to wait for his brunet teammate, who was having a difficult time keeping up with him. Yohji made a mental note to check the bandage; the amount of constriction to his leg was more than he could handle, and more than he thought he needed.

It was while he was lost in his own thoughts, nodding mindlessly as Omi chattered on, that he saw it. It was just a brief flash of red, but it was enough to make him falter. Manx? He'd rarely ever seen the woman here; granted, he was lucky enough to only have to visit every once in a while, but…

He peered into the room, completely drowning out Omi's blathering.

The red did turn out to be hair, but it wasn't Manx. Instead the vibrant colour he was sure very few people in the country could recreate belonged to a young man, one who was lying quietly in one of the Magic Bus' regulation beds, apparently asleep. The young woman sitting beside him however, was very much awake. She was curled up in her seat, dark, twin braids bouncing as her shoulders shook.

The girl was crying.

Her face was streaked with tear tracks, more slipping steadily down her cheeks. Although she wept, her face was altogether impassive, and Yohji shifted uneasily. They weren't crocodile tears; his instincts told him that, but her grief seemed to be something she had grown used to. He could identify with comfortable heartache, and as such he paused, allowing Omi to continue on obliviously. It wasn't until the teenager had reached the end of the hall that he realised his teammate had strayed.

"Yohji-kun, are you feeling okay? Are you in any pain?"

"Omi…" Yohji shook his head, bracing himself on the doorframe. "I'm fine, kid. Just saw someone I used to know. I think I'll stay a while, and catch up with her."

Omi resisted the urge to roll his eyes, smiling brightly at his teammate instead. "Ah, that's fine. I'll go and visit with Ken-kun; come find me when you're done and we can go home."

Yohji waved him off, and Omi continued down the hallway. The older man watched him until he turned the corner, then returned his attention to the room.

Only to find it empty of anything but the boy and the bed.

If the situation was not as maddeningly close to last night's, he would have laughed. Instead, he stepped all the way inside and proceeded to search every corner of the sterile room, growing more and more frantic as he turned up nothing. It didn't make any sense: the incident with Asuka he could somewhat understand, but this…he hadn't even recognised the weeping young woman. In that case, why was he getting so worked up about it anyway?

Right. He took a deep breath, then another, hoping to calm himself down so he could leave and find Omi, when a familiar voice rang out from behind him.

"Oh, Kudoh-san? Is that you?"

He turned slowly, cursing under his breath. The young woman standing in the hallway wasn't immediately familiar, but after a moment of thought it came to him. She was a nurse here, named…Emi? Young, relatively pretty, and not easily flustered by his advances. He'd always meant to ask her out. Right now she was watching him suspiciously, shooting furtive looks at the slumbering boy.

Yohji smiled easily, holding up both hands in an effort to ease her mind. "Heh, I thought I recognised the kid, that's all."

Emi visibly relaxed, bustling inside and gently pushing him from the boy's bedside. "I saw you on the monitor, and thought-" she trailed off, then shook her head. "Mm, you know Fujimiya-san?"

"Fujimiya?" He peered over her shoulder at the boy' slack features. The name didn't ring a bell, and neither did the face, but he wasn't sure if he should let her know that. Yohji watched as she pulled the sheet down from over Fujimiya, then lifted one of his arms carefully and began to move it back and forth. "What are you doing?"

"His muscles need to be exercised regularly. In comatose individuals it helps to prevent atrophy from setting in. Of course, he's been here for so long now that there's very little we can do about that."

"How long has he been like this?" Yohji glanced at the boy's prone body, wincing at the bruising on his arms. It was a good thing the kid was unconscious, considering how much he'd apparently been poked and prodded.

The nurse thought carefully for a moment. "Ah, it's been two years now, I believe."

Two years of silence, or whatever the hell coma patients experienced. He couldn't suppress a shiver, fighting not to look at the young man again.

"Two years, and without even one visitor. Well, aside from Manx-" The woman stopped guiltily, her face flushing prettily before she resumed flexing the comatose man's legs.

Yohji decided to ignore her slipup for the moment, considering he had seen a girl in here not ten minutes ago. "Family?"

"They're all gone."

"What happened to him?"

"I'm not sure." She looked at him strangely, and Yohji responded with an innocent grin. "There was an accident and…" The nurse had finished with one leg, and moved to pick up the other. She had just wrapped her hand around his ankle when she dropped it, hissing in pain.

"Oh." Emi blinked in surprise, her hand shifting to the young man's forehead. Her other hand flew to her mouth. "Ah, I'm sorry Kudoh-san, but it seems he's running a fever. I'll have to ask you to leave."

"A fever?" Yohji was taken aback. "Is that even possible?"

"Kudoh-san…Yohji. Please, you have to go. Now." Emi said firmly, tucking the sheet back under Fujimiya's arms. She picked up a device lying at his bedside and pressed a button, scowling at the assassin as he remained in position. The woman had barely set it down before she was pushing Yohji out the door, her expression fierce. "Goodbye, Kudoh-san."

He moved down the hallway as several individuals rushed in and crowded around the bed, one man in blue gesturing wildly before the door was abruptly shut. Yohji blinked, debating listening in before ruling it out. The young man was obviously of interest to Kritiker, and it was never a good idea to nose around when it came to the organization, considering they quite literally held their agents' lives in their hands. No, he would put it out of his mind and hopefully that would be the end of it.

"Fujimiya." He frowned. It wasn't an altogether uncommon name, but…he pushed aside the thought and made his way to the elevator. He would go to Ken's room, pick up Omi, and get the hell out of this place before he lost his mind. Considering his little episode a while ago, it seemed he wasn't too far off. The playboy snorted, closing his eyes as he waited for the lift to arrive. First Asuka, now the crying girl. What was it with him, women, and unhappiness anyway?

* * *

Notes: After intense deliberation (haha), I decided to go with using manga! Yohji. Don't get me wrong, there actually isn't that much to separate the two, other than a few emphasized personality quirks, but I prefer the manga version's colouring. Also, I felt the ending of this chapter was too rushed but…as I've stated before, all chapters will eventually be revised. 


	6. The Song Remains the Same

Pairings: Schuldig x Ran, Yohji x Ran, Crawford + Schuldig + Ran

Warnings: Spoilers for entire series, severely AU, m/m relationships (a.k.a. yaoi), harsh language, violence, lemon...the list goes on and on.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters. I merely use them for my own amusement.

* * *

**Demon's Dreaming**

**Chapter 6: The Song Remains the Same**

"I'm getting out."

The girl shuddered, steeling herself for what she knew she had to do. There was only so much damage this world could take without collapse, and at the moment Ran was too unstable to goad into rebuilding what he had destroyed. If she pushed too hard, there was the chance that her suggestion could backfire, and that Ran would simply bring everything down around their heads, so to speak. If that were to happen… she would be content with her own destruction, rather than enduring the void and madness that would be left in its wake.

"I'm getting out." Ran repeated. His eyes were fixed on some point deep in the forest, and Aya realised with mounting horror that many of the baseline trees were already smoldering. When the redhead started towards the woods, following the same path that Schuldig had taken, she sprang into action. His strides were long and she was hard-pressed to keep up, stumbling awkwardly even as she flinched away from the energy rolling off of him.

"If you follow that man, I'll die." It was risky, but Ran already sensed that she was hiding something from him. She could get away with revealing a little bit, and hope that he wasn't awakened to the whole truth, or tell him nothing and risk him destroying everything in hopes of getting away. "You must listen to me, or-"

"Or what?" Ran stopped in his tracks, casting a scornful glance over his shoulder. "I'm tired of hearing your lies."

"But it's the truth!" she cried desperately, ready to throw herself in Ran's path to keep him from leaving. She had one more card to play, and due to Schuldig's meddling she wasn't entirely sure that it would work. "I won't exist anymore!"

"So you're trying to save yourself then? He was right: you're not Aya, not at all. She at least cared for me."

"It's not like…please, Ran. I-" she hesitated. How could she convince him of her sincerity? "I'm trying to protect you. To protect _us_. And that includes Aya."

"Aya-chan would never try to manipulate me."

"Brother-"

"Don't," Ran hissed, "don't you dare call me that."

The heat increased, and Aya fell back with a small cry. Dammit, she couldn't get through to him, and whether he realised it or not, he was tearing this place apart. The warmth in her chest expanded, and she beat it down, desperate to keep it contained.

"Listen to me!"

"For what?" Ran rounded on her, and she nearly tumbled in her haste to back away. "I've _been_ listening, and you're not saying anything!"

It was becoming unbearable, and there was only so far she could run before his… power caught up with her. Then again, there really wasn't much she could do here either, and—with a low cry of pain she allowed the warmth to overtake her, reacting with a slow, dulled dismay as it spread quickly, wrenching possession of this body—her body—from her.

"Ran-niisan, _please_. Stop this."

The young man stopped his advance, eyes widening in horror. "_Aya-chan?_"

The warmth around her receded abruptly as Ran swung away, keening in shock. By the time she had reached him, he was doubled over, retching dryly at the sand. She laid a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, and he flinched, throwing it off and backpedaling as quickly as she had only moments before.

"Don't touch me."

"Ran-"

"I don't want to hurt you, Aya-chan."

She smiled warmly, and he basked in it, wanting to throw himself into her arms and hold on. He wanted to ensure that she would never leave him again. But if he did – no, the very thought made him queasy. He wouldn't allow himself to hurt her, not when she looked on him with such love and affection, without the inherent fear of her doppelganger.

"You won't Ran." She touched his shoulder again, lightly, and when he didn't move she repeated the touch on his face. "You see? You can control it Ran." The girl held up both arms for him to see, then turned carefully in place. "You stopped before you hurt me, right?" Aya's face was grave when she finally came to a stop, but she pulled him close, embracing him tightly. "Ran, I-" She shook her head, her tears in earnest. "I want to stay with you, but-"

"Aya?"

"You can control it Ran. I know you can." The girl pulled back, and though her face was awash with tears, she was smiling. "I remember the first time you saved me." Without warning he was pushed away, Aya's arms wrapped tightly around her body, as if trying to contain something within herself. "Please, remember me."

"Aya-chan!"

The change was immediate, and for all of its subtle differences, nearly took everything out of him. The teenaged girl before him was no longer his loving sister, but the relentless spectre that haunted him night and day, spouting warnings and performing insincere niceties to bind him to her.

Most importantly, this ghost... was seemingly terrified by the very thought of his power.

"I'm sorry." The girl was cowering again, arms thrown up against him in fright. "I'm so, so sorry."

"No." He had failed again. Aya-chan had slipped through his fingers once more. "Bring her back!"

"I can't!" Once again he was surprised by the quickness of her temper, and with the unfamiliar fury. Aya-chan had been generally sweet-natured and docile; not a pushover, but not prone to the sudden rages of this creature. If anything it was one of his own attributes. "I can't do anything to _her_!"

"Then why do you look like her?" He was just as angry, and he meant to have answers. The brief contact with his beloved sister was not enough, and he would be damned if this girl got away with giving him the runaround again.

"I told you already! She's a part of me, an irrevocable part. Whatever Schuldig may say, I'm not just a memory."

"What are you?"

"That is not important." Aya doubted that he would be put off by her curt response, and thought to soften the blow with a minor revelation. "Just as Aya-chan is a part of me, so am I a part of you. An intrinsic part." She added the last with some bitterness, Schuldig's jibes not yet having lost their sting.

"You're speaking in riddles."

Aya shivered as the boy unknowingly repeated Schuldig's words, his voice just as cold as the man's had been. Perhaps some measure of honesty was the best way to appease him. "I'm trying to help you. And in this case, it means helping myself as well."

There was a long pause, and her heart lurched. She had begun to accept yet another failure when he spoke again.

"So you're saying that I should trust you?"

"If you trust yourself… then you can trust me." Aya said firmly. He didn't need to know exactly what she meant by that, but she hoped that he would still accept it, and that they would finally be able to work in tandem. Then hopefully, she could try to rid them both of Schuldig's presence once and for all.

"When the time comes, will you allow me to leave?"

She hesitated briefly, and Ran's gaze sharpened. "Yes. I will." A lie, and a terrible one at that, but somehow worth the relief she felt when his shoulders relaxed. If he had continued where he had left off before the other part of her had emerged, she was not sure that she would be able to stop him. The girl took a deep breath, hoping against hope that her eyes were as sincere as her voice.

"When the time comes, I'll let you go."

* * *

Shifting in his seat, Yohji pushed away from the table with a sigh of satisfaction. Upon arriving home he'd been ravenous, the events of the night before having finally taken their toll. Omi had whipped up something quick and easy, and the older man had eaten more than half of his portion before the blond had even taken his place at the table.

Now that they were both full and reasonably content, having a job well done under their belts, perhaps it would be prudent to broach the subject of his strange encounter at the hospital with Tsukiyono. He would prefer to do it without Hidaka's presence, just for propriety's sake, and he wasn't sure that he would get such a golden opportunity once the former footballer had recovered.

Watching as Omi gathered their plates and moved to the sink, Yohji threw caution to the wind and spoke.

"Hey, Omi…anything strike you about the name 'Fujimiya'?"

"Fujimiya…" the teen repeated thoughtfully, before shaking his head and turning back to the sink. "Not really. Why, should it ring a bell?"

Reaching into his shirt pocket casually, the older man retrieved a cigarette, contemplating lighting up right there in the kitchen. Thinking better of it, he stood, barely glancing back as he made his way to the door. "Nah. Just a kid at the hospital…the name sounded a bit familiar, is all."

Behind him, Omi's hands tightened on the dish he was holding until it threatened to crack. "At the hospital, Yohji-kun? Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." Yohji patted down his pants pockets, fishing his lighter out of the one on the right. "It was right on the chart, and Emi said so as well."

"Emi?" Omi let the dish fall back into the water, turning to face his teammate. It was obvious that he was confused, and Yohji took pity on him.

"The nurse. His nurse. She said that she saw me on the monitors…heh, must be pretty high profile for something like that, eh?"

"Yohji, I've never heard of anyone at Krittiker by that name. Are you certain?"

The older man rolled his eyes. He was often amazed by how little faith his comrades had in him, and after yesterday's gaff he was sure that Tsukiyono suspected the stress of their profession was getting to him. But to question him on something like this…

"Yes, yes. Said he'd been there around uh, two years or so, right before she booted me out of his room."

Omi frowned. He didn't know of any Fujimiyas within the organisation, but that certainly didn't mean that they didn't exist. Perhaps this person that Yohji claimed to see was a higher-up, which would explain the security measures Krittiker had taken… but even that was strange. Also, Yohji had mentioned that the individual was a kid, so that pretty much ruled out the prospect of him being too high up in the ranks, but still didn't altogether eliminate the chance. All in all, he was intrigued.

"Ah, Yohji-kun, you said that this kid has been there for two years?"

"Yeah." The brunette, having lit up during Omi's silence, exhaled and peered at him through the cloud of smoke. "Why, what's up?"

"I'm sure it doesn't mean anything…" Omi hesitated, then shook his head, smiling at the older man genially. "I'll look into it. Carefully." He added, then turned back to the sink to finish his chore.

Yohji nodded, his mind working over what Omi had said and more importantly, what he hadn't. Krittiker had to have some kind of stake in the young man he had seen, judging from the extent of the security measures they had placed around him. The fact that they had cared for a coma victim for so long more than assured that the boy was somehow important to the organisation, yet he was not hidden away in one of the more secure facilities Yohji was sure they must run. That in itself was puzzling, though Nurse Emi's insistence that Fujimiya's family had been wiped out explained the situation a bit. If there was no one left to take care of him, and he was indeed a Krittiker agent, perhaps they had taken it upon themselves to keep him safe. It would make even more sense if the boy's _family_ had been deeply entrenched in the organisation, and had died in service; then Krittiker's heads would have been obligated to care for him, regardless of the expense.

Still, Yohji suspected the truth lay a bit deeper, and he had deliberately goaded Omi into agreeing to investigate as the boy seemed to be a bit more adept at uncovering their employer's secrets than he. Also, he had his own territory to stomp: Emi's mention of monitors and Manx had got him thinking, and he wasn't pleased by the possible implications of it all. If the boy was being monitored… and he obviously was seeing as the nurse had swooped down on him with startling speed… that implied that he was beyond important to Krittiker, bordering on invaluable. No regular agent, even one in a coma, would garner such unusual attention. Secondly, if the boy was being watched round the clock, how was it possible that Emi had only arrived when Yohji entered the room, and not before. Call him crazy, but hadn't a young girl been weeping by the boy's bedside only moments before he had entered? From the looks of her, she had been sitting there for quite a while, and yet Emi insisted that Fujimiya hadn't received any visitors other than Manx and himself. It didn't make any sense, not one iota of it.

As Omi finished up and began to chatter about the goings on at his school, Yohji found himself tuning the boy out, immersed in the mystery he had uncovered. Krittiker be damned; he needed this as proof that he wasn't completely cracking up, and come hell or high water he would get answers.

He never had been the kind of man who could stand seeing a woman cry without finding the cause of her tears. The truth would be outed, or…

Yohji snuffed his cigarette on the doorjamb, not willing to finish that thought.

* * *

Notes: Okay, so Ran's still trapped in his own head, Schuldig is nowhere to be found, and Yohji is (half-assedly) using his detective skills. The story is progressing, albeit slowly, and I can assure you that I know exactly where it will end up. Updates may be even slower than usual considering real life has picked up a bit, but I will finish this and **When the Levee Breaks**. Thanks again for reading! 


	7. Variegated

Pairings: Schuldig x Ran, Yohji x Ran, Crawford + Schuldig + Ran

Warnings: Spoilers for entire series, severely AU, m/m relationships (a.k.a. yaoi), harsh language, violence, lemon...the list goes on and on.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters. I merely use them for my own amusement.

* * *

**Demon's Dreaming**

**Chapter 7: Variegated**

"This sucks."

Yohji resisted the urge to roll his eyes, flashing an indulgent grin at Ken instead. The soccer player had been whining incessantly for the last few days, perturbed by the nearly constant rainfall that had put the damper on his team's footie tourney. The footballer has been on edge for a while now – hell, all of them had, for that matter – and this latest disappointment seemed to be the last straw.

The last few months had been difficult for Weiss, as they were confronted by a new, more powerful enemy. Omi's near defection and Yohji's descent into ever more destructive behaviour had nearly torn the team apart, and even now they struggled to regain their footing. Through it all, Yohji had pushed the mystery surrounding Fujimiya Ran to the back of his mind… how surprising then, when Omi had called him into his room earlier, luring him with the promise of new information on the "case."

When Yohji had first entered the room, Omi had closed a screen hastily, darting a quick look back over his shoulder with a nervy smile. Odd. Yohji filed the strange reaction away for later musing, then plastered a smile on his face and closed the door behind.

"I've found something that you may be interested in Yohji… it's kind of grainy but…"

"Taking a walk on the wild side, huh?" Yohji interrupted. He couldn't resist taking these little digs at Tsukiyono, amused by how flustered the kid could get by the very suggestion of something illicit… hardly the reaction one expected from someone who had been taking lives for years. "Naughty naughty, Omi-chan."

"Yohji-kun!" Omi, blushing furiously, turned his face to the screen. "As I was saying, this is an undated picture of the Fujimiya family. The article I found says that Mr. and Mrs. Fujimiya, and their daughter were killed in an explosion at their home two and a half years ago and…the son, Ran, initially survived, but passed away a few hours later."

Yohji looked at Omi as though the boy was insane. "Bullshit. I saw this kid," he pointed at the smiling boy in the photograph, "lying in a hospital bed not six weeks ago."

"I know that. I also know that _someone_," Omi stressed the last word, "doesn't want anyone to know that Fujimiya Ran is still alive. They went to all the trouble of faking his death, just like they did ours, but he hasn't been placed like we have. Instead he's been lying in that room all this time, and that I… that I don't understand."

Yohji frowned, unsettled by Omi's confusion. He knew good and well that the boy was human and therefore fallible, but he'd never seen him so lost. The past few weeks of dealing with and disposing of members of his family had been a nasty bit of business, and he couldn't really imagine what the kid was feeling.

Then again, the appearance of Takatori Masafumi and his merry band of homicidal bitches had hit close to home for Yohji as well.

The woman was a carbon copy of his lost partner, though she seemed to hold none of Asuka's passion. Her detachment even during their skirmishes wrenched at his heart, even as her devotion to that monster, coerced or not, goaded him toward blind rage.

Yohji didn't do rage well.

* * *

"I'm tired of this place."

Aya had to suppress a smile. If Ran knew how much he sounded like a petulant child at the moment, he would most likely withdraw even further into himself… literally. The urge to laugh faded at that thought, and the girl frowned instead.

Ran's behaviour had been even stranger than usual lately, or as strange as it could be considering none of his actions were real. It occurred to her that she wasn't exactly sure as to where his body was, or even the condition that it was in. It would do neither of them any good if his physical form were to be destroyed or harmed in some way as logically, his mind would be affected as well. As much as she didn't want Ran to wake up in order to preserve herself, it was becoming more and more clear that without any regard to his physicality Ran was going… off, for lack of a better word.

As much as it galled her, there wasn't much that she could do in that regard, however. She didn't want Ran to wake up and forget about her, but it wouldn't do to have him lose his mind either. On the other hand, even if he did wake up there wasn't any way for her to be sure that he would be safe. He could be in a body that had long since atrophied and died, or even worse, be the subject of study. She shuddered, imagining the terror and pain he would experience on the outside. Better to keep him safe and relatively sane here, than broken and exploited there.

She had just opened her mouth to suggest that he change the scenery again when she felt it. The difference was slight, a light pressure at the back of her mind (or Ran's, rather), but it was there nonetheless. Her lips bore back in an unconscious snarl. It was that… monster. That beast. A bloody demon sent to torment her and, well, she still wasn't quite sure of what it was that he wanted with Ran.

Aya clambered to her feet, ready to grab the boy's hand and run—to hell with dignity—but it was too late. The familiar brassy red hair came into view, followed by the sneer and obnoxious green jacket. She clenched her hands, letting them ball into fists, ignoring the phantom pain caused by her nails digging into her palms. _It wasn't as though she could really feel it_, something whispered at the back of her mind, and she brushed it away. More of _his_ games, no doubt.

Ran's head turned slightly, slowly, the motion devoid of the panicked, jerky motions of the earlier encounters. As she realised that this did not bode well for her own plans, she suppressed a flash of realer pain, hardening her heart against it. That man wouldn't win… she wouldn't let him. She would make Ran see just how dangerous this play interaction was, and how close he was to ensuring their ruin.

Aya could sense the amusement rolling off of the telepath, and her fists tightened further. She was powerless against him, and she knew it. She was just intangible enough that she would not hold up against a mental onslaught, unless… her gaze slid to Ran. His mind was still fragile, though no longer on the brink of shattering. He was also like Schuldig in a way, although his curse differed from the man's in a way that her original's had not.

On the other hand, if Ran were to attack the telepath here, in the relative safety of his own mind, there was no guarantee that he could rein his power in enough to avoid destroying them both as well. Once again, it was a risk that she just couldn't take at this juncture.

As the flame-haired man neared, her fists tightened to the point that, if she had been able to truly feel, the movement would have been agonizing. She would watch, and wait, and when the time was right… both she and Ran would strike.

* * *

"Schuldig."

Not much in the way of a greeting, but Schuldig was pleasantly surprised by it nonetheless. The bitch continued to glare at him, obviously not pleased by his presence, but he ignored her in favour of observing his target, who had risen as he approached. The boy looked much the same as he always did, if not a bit more at ease in his own mind, and he had tensed only slightly when the telepath had appeared. It seemed that he was making progress, albeit slowly. He could only hope that his appointed actions today would not make their…relationship…take a step backwards.

"Ran." Schuldig bowed his head slightly, smirking at the young woman's answering scowl. Ran's odd-coloured eyes flicked to the girl, then back to the other man's face, a slight frown marring his lips. "I take it that you are doing well."

"What are you doing here?"

"Aya!"

"Ah, the littlest Fujimiya." The girl bristled visibly, and Schuldig smirked again before continuing. "I would inquire as to your health but," he shrugged helplessly, "we are all aware of your present condition." Ignoring her indignant squawk, Schuldig returned his attention to the silent boy, whose eyes had narrowed considerably.

"What _are_ you doing here?"

Schuldig shrugged again, briefly considering having a seat in the sand and making himself comfortable, before quickly dismissing the thought. Truth be told, there was a very good chance that Ran would react badly to today's little revelations, and he needed the advantage of his speed should the need to flee arise. One of the peculiarities of Ran's mind was that, most likely due to his comatose state, Schuldig could not simply "wrench" his own consciousness from the boy's. The fact that he had to actually enter and exit through some useless parody of a gate galled him to no end, and he had begun to suspect that the brat had meddled with her brother's mind at the moment of her death more than he had originally surmised. If there was one person he could bring back to life, only to kill again…

Ran was frowning again, and looking decidedly uncomfortable. The revenant hovered nearby, though thankfully, remained silent. Although he appeared outwardly calm, his own nerves were stretched tight in both anticipation and dread. He had hounded Crawford for months regarding Fujimiya's ultimate fate, and had been delighted when, only days before this little meeting, Brad had casually mentioned that now would be a good time to get the ball rolling on the little bitch's destruction. He had also hinted that Schuldig's original plan to simply 'enlighten' Ran would prove to be a crude, but effective method – all he needed to do was light the charge, and the powder keg would take care of itself. Now that the moment had come, and victory was relatively close at hand however, he felt a bit uneasy. Ran's Gift was notoriously unpredictable, and while Schuldig was almost certain that _he_ couldn't actually be destroyed while here, the same couldn't be said for Ran himself.

He didn't even want to consider the shitstorm that would follow if he allowed the boy… no, young man, to die by his own hand after all.

"It's time for us to have a little chat." Schuldig paused, realizing that he wasn't quite sure as to how to go about this, before he realized that there was no 'good way' to do it and simply forged on. "You should know just how deep this little demon's," he nodded at 'Aya' "machinations truly go."

Ran didn't so much as glance at the girl, though his gaze grew minutely colder. "She and I have reached an understanding. There will be no interference on her part when you wake me."

Schuldig sincerely doubted that, but knew better than to pursue it at the moment. Perhaps after the boy learned what had been done to his darling sister, he would be less apt to trust something that had stolen her image.

The telepath shook his head, both to clear his own jumbled thoughts—apparently, the result of playing too long in an increasingly dormant mind—and to negate the boy's statement. "We shall see, and cross that bridge when we come to it. I wasn't referring to her interest in keeping you… dreaming, however."

"Oh." Ran blinked, and Schuldig had to suppress the urge to laugh. The other redhead was obviously confused, and a bit off balance at having the subject dismissed so readily. Seeing his chance, Schuldig moved in for the kill.

"That creature had the gall to wear your sister's face, so soon after it had a hand in ending her life."

Rather than the stunned silence he expected, the boy laughed. The sound was harsh, and even Aya appeared surprised, though she kept her eyes on Schuldig.

"She didn't even exist before… before all of this." Ran waved his hand to indicate their surroundings. "How could she have had anything to do with the explosion?"

"True. You and I both know that the explosion didn't kill your sister… _ne_, Ran?"

At that Ran did freeze, and the temperature, until now reminiscent of spring, dropped a few notches. The girl's face was stricken, her eyes now darting between Schuldig and her 'brother', as if unsure of which she should be wary of.

It was a while before Ran spoke again, enough time for Schuldig to regroup and actually _think_ about his next move.

"What happened to my sister?"

The boy's voice was deceptively calm, but the telepath knew better than to let his guard down. He edged away slightly, markedly unsure of how the boy would react to the news—to the truth of what had befallen his precious 'Aya-chan.'

"Yes, Fujimiya Aya. We've been skirting the issue long enough, don't you think?" Schuldig braced himself, reinforcing his mental defenses even as he took another careful step back, though he didn't move far away enough to prevent his containment of the boy should it become necessary.

"You were there." Ran's voice was still quite low, and Schuldig resisted the urge to lean forward in hopes of hearing him. He didn't think that the boy would go so far as to physically attack him, but it was better to err on the side of caution than take a chance that would leave him mentally smarting for a few days, considering the boy's strength. "You were there, right? Did you have something to do with it?" The boy looked to Aya-chan, eyes widening. "Is that what you've been trying to tell me?"

Aya stiffened, knowing and dreading what was coming. She shot Schuldig a pleading look, but the expression of gloating anticipation on the German's face was enough to tell her that he would not grant them this mercy.

"Ran, wait, don't-"

"Quiet!" Schuldig barked, before turning to face the young man. "I thought you'd have realised by now, Ran."

The boy remained silent, and Aya flinched. He was going to listen to Schuldig, and when he heard what the man had to say… all hell would break loose.

"I didn't kill your sister."

Schuldig was delighted to see that the girl didn't dare look at the other young man, her gaze fixed somewhere on the sand beneath their feet. He allowed the silence to stretch, drinking in Ran's frustration and growing apprehension.

"You did."

* * *

Notes: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I really, truly hate this chapter. Well, perhaps hate is too strong a word, but to have spent so much time on it, eking out word after word only to have it turn out so short and strangely anticlimactic, I think I'm entitled to a bit of cringing. At any rate, the next chapter is ¼ of the way done, but honestly, after a year of not updating, I won't even bother with a potential posting date. _Hopefully_, it will be up by the end of July. 

As to why it has taken me so long to update, uh… well, I've been ridiculously busy with work, and then I fell into DBSK fandom, which eats up a surprising amount of time. Many apologies to any who actually still want to read this!


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